1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tape measures, more particularly to tape measures that retract flat and thin so they fit snugly in a pocket such as a credit card or auxiliary pocket of a wallet or in a pocket located on the inside cover of a notebook.
2. Terms
The terms tape measure ribbon, tape measure, extended mode, retracted mode, standard credit card, extensible, tape measure thickness, auxiliary pocket, wrapped nicely and sized used in this application are defined below.
Tape measure ribbon (ribbon for short): Tape measure ribbon refers to a long, thin strip of flexible non-extensible material (102 in all the figures) containing numeric and tick indicia that is used for taking linear measurements.
Tape measure: Tape measure refers to the ribbon and additional components, if present, of a specific product.
Modes: Tape measures have two modes, an extended mode where the ribbon is extended, fully or partially, so the tape measure ribbon can be used for measuring, and a retracted mode when the tape measure is configured for storage.
Standard credit card: A credit card of approximate dimensions 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) by 8.5 cm (3.3 inches) by 35 mil where a mil is 0.0.00254 cm (one thousandth of an inch).
Extensible: stretchable, as in a rubber band.
Tape measure thickness: Tape measure thickness is defined herein as the smaller of the thickness of the tape measure width or height when it is in its retracted mode.
For example, the tape measure thickness in FIG. 1a depends on precisely how it is coiled and flattened in its retracted mode. Its thickness will either be approximately the thickness of the ribbon multiplied by the number of folded ribbon segments or the width of the ribbon, whichever is smaller. The tape measure thickness is FIG. 1b is the thickness of its case. The tape measure thickness shown in FIG. 3b (embodiment one of this invention) is the thickness of the case containing the folded ribbon and card when the tape measure is in the retracted mode.
If the auxiliary pocket is a credit card pocket, it is convenient to relate tape measure thickness to the thickness of a standard credit card. A tape measure thickness of less than three standard credit cards is equivalent to a tape measure thickness of less than 0.27 cm (0.105 inch).
Auxiliary pocket: An auxiliary pocket in this document is a pocket designed to hold thin items such as a credit card, business card, sheets of paper or index cards. Examples of auxiliary pockets to which this invention is directed are credit card or business card pockets found in wallets, activity planners or organizers, or a pocket located on the inside cover of a loose-leaf notebook that can hold several sheets of paper. The size of the auxiliary pocket may range from the size of a credit card or smaller to 8 inches by 11 inches or larger.
Wrapped nicely: A tape measure ribbon is wrapped nicely around a card if the wrapped ribbon covers over 65 percent of the surface area of the card.
Sized: A flat and thin tape measure is sized by specifying the width, height or length, and thickness of each tape measure component (ribbon, card and case) that is chosen to achieve a given objective such as enabling the tape measure to fit snugly in a credit card pocket of a wallet.
3. Description and Related Art
There are basically two kinds of commercially available tape measures, the standalone tape measure as shown in FIG. 1a consisting of the ribbon only, and the retractable tape measure shown in FIG. 1b. The standalone tape measure may optionally come with a case; a case is not show in FIG. 1a. 
The retractable tape measure of FIG. 1b has a ribbon similar to the standalone tape measure, but has additional components (case 104, spring mechanism internal to the case (not shown in the figure), locking mechanism 106 and flange 108 and features (concave ribbon that provides rigidity to the ribbon when extended but lies flat when retracted) that make the tape measure easy to use. Other versions of the retractable tape measure have external windup cranks instead of internal springs. These windup tape measures can accommodate ribbons with lengths of 300 feet or more.
In spite of the extensive variability of tape measure products on the market, almost all commercial tape measures fall into one of these two basic categories: the retractable tape measure and the standalone tape measure. Furthermore, all these tape measure products are portable; many will fit in a pocket or purse. Miniature versions of the retractable tape measures are commercially available that are small enough to be attached to a keychain; have a thickness of about a half of an inch or less, and are inexpensive enough to be given out as a free promotional product, usually with advertising indicia on the case or ribbon.
The inventive concept presented in this document introduces a novel third category of tape measures: the flat and thin tape measure. Specifically, the flat and thin tape measure, when in its retracted mode, has width and height that is sized to fit snugly in an auxiliary pocket such as a credit card pocket of a wallet or an auxiliary pocket of a notebook. If it is sized to fit in a credit card pocket, the tape measure thickness may be required to be approximately the thickness of from one or several standard credit cards. Furthermore the flat and thin tape measure is durable and easy to use, and can be designed to accommodate lengths from as little as three feet or less to many yards, depending on its intended use.
There are measuring instruments both in the patent literature and in the marketplace that relates to, but do not achieve, these objectives. US Patent Application Publication 2002/0149198, published Oct. 17, 2002, presents a business card and ruler combination. This publication provides a measurement capability, and when retracted will fit in a wallet credit card pocket. However, the measurement component consists of foldable ruler segments, which by their very nature are semi-rigid and hence is much thicker than the thickness of a typical tape measure ribbon. Furthermore the width of the ruler when extended is slightly less than the width of the business card, which is considerably wider than a typical tape measure ribbon.
The promotional products company FortePromo offers online a business card tape measure with a 5 ft retractable ribbon that will accommodate advertising information. This is a miniature version of the standard retractable tape measure with a case in the shape of a business card. However the width of the case is ⅜ inch, which is too thick to fit in a credit card pocket of a wallet.
In addition to the patent literature, the retail establishment IKEA makes available to their customers a free 40-inch disposable paper tape measure ribbon that is intended to be used in their store while the customer shops. However a customer is free to take the tape measure home, and the ribbon may be folded as shown in FIG. 1a so it fits into a standard credit card-sized wallet pocket or in a notebook pocket. However when used in this way, the tape measure is not durable, and fits awkwardly in the credit card pocket.
In spite of the wide array of tape measure products commercially available, none are durable and capable of being stored snugly in a pocket of a wallet that has been designed to store credit cards and business cards, or in a notebook auxiliary pocket designed to hold several sheets of paper.